Protective system



NOV. 6, 1934. J MCALISTER I 1,979,754

PROTECTIVE SYSTEM Filed May 2, 1934 NORMA/v J. McAL/STER Wm 42. MW I glvwc/wto't FIG. 6 O

Patented Nov. 6, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT oFFies 3 Glairns.

My invention relates to protective systems, and in particular to systems for protecting places of business, or other places, against robbery, holdups or mob violence.

An object of the invention is to devise a protective system of the type in which upon an attempt at robbery by an intruder, the intended victim may release a blinding powder or chemical into the atmosphere around the intruder and thus effectively blind the robber and prevent his escape.

Heretofore protective systems of various kinds have been devised which depend for their operation upon the use of compressed air, electricity, and similar sources of energy. Systems employing compressed air have the disadvantage that more or less elaborate machinery is required to maintain the compressed air in a suitable storage tank, and the apparatus is subject to frequent disorder and requires constant inspection and attention. In protective systems operated by electric-energy, there is the disadvantage that electricity is not always available in all localities where protective systems are needed, and even where electricity is available, there are frequent failures of the sourceof power, which renders the system not entirely reliable.

Another object of my invention is to devise a protective system which is operated entirely by gravity means or by the energy stored in a suitable weight.

A further object is to devise a protective system employing guns for exploding. shells loaded with a. disabling dust or chemical, the system being entirely mechanical in its operation, simple of construction and adjustment, and requiring substantially no servicing.

Still another object is to devise a protective system in which a plurality of guns are located at separated points of advantage and are discharged simultaneously by a common operating means located at a central point.

An additional object is to devise a. novel gun construction and a gun mounting which will permit ready adjustment of the position of the gun Without disturbing the operating mechanism.

One arrangement of protective system according to my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which: Figure 1 is an elevational view of a room in which the protective system has been installed; Figure 2 is a sectional view of Figure 1 taken along line 2-2 Figure 3- is a fragmentary sectional view taken through the center vertical plane of one of the Figure 6 is a View partly in section illustrating the details of construction of the gun employed in the protective system.

In Figure 1 I have shown the installation of my protective system in a room having a floor represented at la, two side walls 112 and 1c and a ceiling 1d. Located within the room is a counter 2 across which business is to be transacted. The counter may extend all the way across the room or it may have spaces for passage around each end as shown. A casing or cabinet 3 is mounted upon the wall 1b above the left end of the counter 2, and this case contains a gun 4 for discharging shells which are loaded with a disabling charge of. suitable material, and the gun is so positioned as to direct the discharge to the front of the counter and towards the center. A similar casing 3' containing a similar gun is mounted upon the side wall 1c, and the gun is directed towards the center and the front of the counter 2. A third casing 3" is mounted above a door opening 1e and the gun in this casing is positioned to direct the charge downwardly infront of the door to prevent the escape of a would-be robber through the door without having to pass through the disabling dust or gas. Similar casings may be located at other points of advantage.

Suspended beneath the top of the counter 2 is an inverted U-bracket 5 having two spaced depending legs 5a and 5b in which is journaled a shaft 6. Secured to one end of the shaft 6 is a ratchet wheel 6a which is engaged by a pawl 62) pivotally secured near its center to the bracket 5. Fixed to the other end of the shaft 6 is an arm which carries a weight 6d which is adjustable in position along the arm 60. A suitable hand lever .6c is also secured to the shaft 6 for resetting the shaft after each operation A tread bar 7 is located underneath the counter near the floor and extends substantially the entire length of the counter. This bar is connected to the rear end of the pawl. 61) by a suitable connection 71) such as a cable, wire, or stout cord, and the bar '7 is so mounted that a depression of the bar at any place along its length will release the pawl 6b from engagement with the ratchet wheel 6a. The bar '7 may be mounted in any suitable manner, and I have shown the bar as mounted between parallel arms and 7d rigidly secured to the ends of a suitable pipe or rod 76 suitably journaled in I blocks-7f and 79 located inside of the front wall of I the counter 2.

Suitable springs- 7h may be pro-v vided to carry the weight of the :bar'? and prevent I accidental tripping of the pawl 63). I I

. Three flexible cables 8,8 and 8 are anchored to and wound arotuid'the shaftfi, and are passed I through the floor la and over suitable pulleys to I up the cables 3, '8 and 8", when the pawlifib is released by depressing the tread bar 7, and the winding up of the cables trips theItriggers of the guns in the casings -3, 3'iand 3", thereby discharg- I ing the guns.

After the guns have been dis charged, the operating mechanism maybe reset by depressing the hand'lever: dc to thetpositionshown in Figure 2.

The construction of the casing andthemannerin which the'gun is mounted. within. the .casing. is illustrated in Figures 3 to 5. The gun casing 3 is formed of a main boX-like body por tion 3a and a hinged cover 3b which constitutes I the-front wall of the casing. If desired, the front wall may be ro'undedin the manner shown in Figure 4, 'this wall is provided withhorizontal' opening 30 near the bottom through which the gun 4 is discharged. For the purpose of concealing the gun and 'camouflaging' the njature of the device, a sheet'of paper 3d may. be

I arranged within the cover over the opening 3c. I This paper will be. destroyed each time the gun is discharged'and must be. replaced Whenthe:

I gun is reloaded; For :the purpose of further :camouflagingthe nature of the device, suitable ornamental grill-Work may be provided above the opening 30 as shown. A turn-table 3c is pivotally secured to the bottom of the casing by a pin 3f near the back of the casing, and this turn-table may be held at any adjusted position by means of a Wing-nut 39' provided on a bolt secured to the turn-table and passing through an arcuate slot 371. formed in the bottom of the casing. Mounted on the turn-table 3c is a U-bracket 3i to which the gun 4 is mounted for pivotal rotation in a vertical plane by means of a sleeve 310. The gun is held in any position of vertical adjustment by tightening the wing nut 3m on one of the pivot bolts. A pulley 3n is mounted in front of the bracket 31', and the operating cable 8 entering the box through a hole at the rear of the case, passes over the pulley 311., through the bracket 3i, and is attached to the trigger of the gun 4. A pair of idler pulleys 3p are arranged on opposite sides of the pivotal axis of the turn-table 3e to guide the cable 8 through the opening in back of the casing for any position of adjustment of the turntable. The cable after passing between pulleys 3p is threaded through a spring 3s, one end of which is secured to the cable and the other end of which is suitably anchored to the bracket 3i under tension. The purpose of the spring 33 is to take up the slack in the cable 8 between the casing and the shaft 6 of the operating mechanism located beneath the counter 2. A limited amount of slack may be allowed in the cable 8 between the point of connection of the spring 33 to the cable and the trigger of the gun, and a very small amount of slack at this point will permit the gun to be adjusted either in a horizontal plane or vertical plane without disturbing the connection of the cable 8 to the trigger onet-slot connection. to. reload the gun. .4 is closed atthe left-end, and a plunger 4c,. carrying the firing pin, ,is arranged to operate in this section and is provided with a stem 4d extending through the rear end of I the case. :A 7 I I I of shown. The, endof the cable may be attached I to the trigger by asmall hook engaging-the in the bracket 32'.

The details of construction of the gun-are- .iliustrated'in Figure 62- The. gun is formed of a cylindrical :tube 4. having an internal annular section to the right, into whichthe shells are loaded through the muzzle end; of the tube, and

hole in'the trigger directlyor engaging: a ring I carried by the trigger, so that; the cable may be =readily disconnected.- Without. disturbing the gun. If desired, the pulley- 312. may be mounted With: II

as flange. 4a which dividesthe tube into a barrel. I 1

secured to the barrel bymeans of a pinandbaw I I I This cap must be removed The rear section of the tube knob 49 is secured to the endof the stem led by roundingthe stem 4d. and presses against the I .plunger 4e. I A. trigger 4g is pivotallysecured to. the tube and serves-to hold the plunger 40 in cocked position. A suitable spring, such as sh, is provided to bias the trigger to the latching position; If. desired, an annular washer I orring I I I 42' of resilient material; such as rubber; may be I II inserted I between the plunger: 4c and the. annular shoulder; Aato hold the firing pinout of I contact with the-shell While the; gun isbeing re I loaded. I It will. be I understood. that. whenthe trigger is released, theiorceofthe I plunger against the resilient, washercompresses the II washer and permits the pin to strikethe firing cap of the shell. I I I I by a suitable packing. The material to be loaded in the shells should be one which effectively blinds or stifies a person for twenty to thirty minutes in order to give an opportunity to capture the intruder. Several materials will be found satisfactory for this purpose. For example, I may use a chemical such as veratrine or veratrine hydrochloride or materials such as Cayenne pepper, snuff, lime dust, or mixtures of the above materials.

Since the entire operating energy for firing the guns is supplied by the weight, and since very little force is required to trip the pawl, my system insures positive operation of the guns upon a. very slight depression of the tread ,bar. In other words, my system involves a force multiplying relay in which a small force sets into operation a larger and positively acting force to fire the guns.

While I have illustrated and described one installation of my protective system in which the operating mechanism for firing the guns is located beneath a counter, and a tread bar is provided for tripping the operating mechanism, it will be understood that the operating mechanism might be placed in other locations and tripped by means other than a tread bar. I prefer to conceal the los operating cables by placing them beneath the floor and between the walls of the building as illustrated, but this is not essential to the invention.

If desired, an audible signal device may be arranged within the room, or outside of the room, and a connection made between one of the operating cables to set the signal into operation when the guns are discharged. This signal may be located in one of the gun casings, or it may be arranged in a separate housing located outside of the building in order to attract the attention of persons on the outside. The audible signal may be of any desired construction, but I prefer one which is operated by a weight-motor such as is commonly employed in clocks.

While I have shown a particular gun construction especially designed for operation in my protective system, it will be understood that other forms of gun may be used. For example, a breech loading gun may be employed, and the gun may be removably mounted upon the turntable in order to facilitate loading. Also, instead of using specially constructed shells, it is possible to use ordinary shot gun shells by removing the shot from the end of the shell, and replacing the shot with a suitable disabling powder. In case the shell does not hold a sufficient amount of powder, the proper quantity may be loaded in the muzzle of the gun and retained in position by a suitable packing.

While I have illustrated and described one embodiment of my protective system, as required by the patent statutes, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that the system may be modified in various ways without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a gun-mount, the combination of a base member, a turn-table pivoted to said base member, a gun mounted upon said turn-table, a firing cable secured to the trigger of said gun, and a tension spring secured at one end to said turn-table and at the other end to said cable to take up the slack in said cable between said turntable and the cable operating means.

2. In a gun-mount, the combination of a base member, a turn-table pivoted to said base mem-.

ber, a gun mounted upon said turn table, a firing cable secured to the trigger of said gun, a tension spring secured at one end to said turntable and at the other end to said cable to take up the slack in said cable between said turntable and the cable operating means, and a pair of idle pulleys arranged on opposite sides of the pivotal axis of said turn-table between which said cable is located, whereby said turn-table may be moved about its axis without causing said cable to trip said trigger.

3. In a gun-mount, the combination of a base member, a turn-table pivoted to said base member, means for locking said turn-table to said base and permitting adjustment of said turntable about its pivotal axis, a gun mounted upon said turn-table for pivotal movement about an axis at right angles to the axis of said turn-table, a firing cable secured to the trigger of said gun, a tension spring secured at one end to said turntable and at the other end to said cable to take up the slack in said cable between said turntable and the cable operating means, and a pair of idle pulleys arranged on opposite sides of the pivotal axis of said turn-table between which said cable is located, whereby said turn-table may be moved about its axis without causing said cable to trip said trigger.

NORMAN J. MCALISTER. 

